I Scream, You Scream

For ice cream. Yes, Bill and I returned to the scene of yesterday's uncomfortable situation. Not that we were looking for trouble. It's just that the ice cream at this place is just so damn good and cheap. The families and the kiddies were there again tonight but we didn't hang around after we got our ice cream. Instead we headed down to visit out friends Big Bob and Jim at their home in the woods on Anderson Corner Road, right outside of Georgetown.

Neither Bob or Jim were feeling well. I suspect a lot of their disposition had to do with their neighbor who encroaching on their 22 acres of wooded land. Bob and Jim like to walk around the perimeter of their land but their neighbor chased them away. Big Bob has lived on that land since he purchased it in the early 70's. I used to visit him often. Big Bob is the reason I moved to southern Delaware. I grew to love this area of the country and decided this is where I wanted to live when I retired. I am so glad I made this decision. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life.

Now I feel bad for Big Bob because he's not comfortable in his own home. He has already had one home invasion by a druggie (who is now in prison.) He keeps his door locked all the time now. Unlike Bill and I who almost always have our garage door open in the beautiful, peaceful Ryan Homes development we live in on the east side of Route 1. Route 1 is like a moat around our castle. It keeps out all the bad elements. Anybody strange wandering around in our neighborhood is very noticeable.

Bob asked me about the tax consequences of selling his land and buying or building a new smaller house with a basement and enough room for a small garden. He is 72 years old now and he says that is all he wants. A small house that is easy to care for and none of the stress that he and Jim are now enduring. I explained to him the $250,000 capital gains tax cost exemption which I think Bob would qualify. Unfortunately for Bob, he has two problems. First this is a terrible market to sell a house or land even if it is a prime 22 acres of woodland that is easily cleared. Secondly, his neighbor has been encroaching on his land for years now and Bob has not contested it. He knew it was going on but did nothing because he wanted good relations with his neighbor. It isn't the way I would have handled it but to each his own. I can't tell someone else how to live their life. I think if he does get a buyer for his land, he will have problems establishing his land borders. He may have to get legal help. That could prove costly.

I wish Bob and Jim the best but I don't think they will do anything. It's a shame they didn't sell their land when the real estate market was hot. I advised him to do so but he wasn't ready to sell at that time. Big Bob's situation makes me appreciate even more the beautiful and peaceful place where I live and my wonderful neighbors. I've been through the Bad Neighbor experience and it wasn't fun. It was one of the most stressful situations of my life. I felt trapped. I am so glad that in my twilight years Bill and I can live in relative peace and comfort without having to worry about bad neighbors. We may encounter rude teenagers at a local ice cream stand but we can always return to our safe haven home were we can live in peace and comfort. For that I am so thankful.

Another Day Ends

As I was getting ready for my daily walk at the end of the day, I looked to the for horizon and saw this wonderful sight of the sun shining rays through the clouds. That's what I love about living where I do, out in the open. In Pennsylvania I lived in the middle of the woods, which has its advantages but one of the big disadvantages was that I never saw a sunset. Oh how I missed seeing sunsets. For the twenty five years I lived at the Crawford Road property the only way I could see a sunset was through a forest of trees.

What sold me on this property was its position to see sunsets. In November of 2005, as I was leaving Delaware, I stopped at this Ryan Homes development on the east side of Route 1 to check the available properties for sale. At the sales office I saw a corner lot on the map. I asked if I could see it. Jerry, the sales representative, told me how to get to it. It was about 5:30 pm. I had to rush to the lot before it got dark. As I arrived at the lot the sun was just setting. I was sold. The lot was in the perfect location to view sunsets. It was ideal.

I went back to Jerry, borrowed $50 from him to put as a down payment on the lot and thus began one of the greatest trials of my life, selling our home in Pennsylvania and building a new home in Delaware. That story will be a book someday. The whole ordeal of selling our home in Pennsylvania was the most traumatic thing to happen in my life, short of a terminal illness.

Now, three and a half years later, I'm settled in (albeit with a mortgage that won't be paid off until I'm 95 years old) and I'm loving this home. Today, looking at those rays of sun shining through the clouds, was just another verification that I made the right decision. I am supremely happy.

Buttermilk Chocolate Cake Recipe

Since I could hardly reach the kitchen counter, I always liked to cook. My Mother taught me how to make chocolate chip cookies at Christmastime. When I was only seven years old, I could whip up a batch of peanut butter cookies as good as Mom's. My Mother wasn't necessarily a good cook (sorry Mom) but she could make wonderful old fashion drop biscuits. I've never been able to match her skills biscuit making but I have surpassed her in most other areas of cooking food. Not that I'm a gourmet cook, I'm far from that. But I do have my favorite dishes that I prefer to anyone else's.

I remember so well how disappointed I was when I entered high school in 1954 and I wasn't allowed to take the Home Economics class. Remember this was back in the Eisenhower Fifties when boys were boys and girls were girls and never the twain should meet. What a shame. My first date, Bonnie, wanted to take shop and she wasn't allowed either because shop was for boys only just as "Home Ec" for the girls only. Thank goodness that way of thinking has changed (I assume it has anyway, I don't know for sure.)

I didn't start experimenting with cooking again until I moved in with my life partner Bill back in March of 1965. Since then I've tried all kinds of recipes. Some successful and some not so successful. Again, I'm not a gourmet cook but I do like to cook good food that taste good. My test of a good recipe is one that keeps you coming back for more.

In January of 2006 I put my house in Pennsylvania up for sale. I contracted to have a new house built in Delaware, confident that I would sell my Pennsylvania house in no time. How wrong I was. This was right at the beginning of the housing bust. For seven long months I carried two mortgages at a cost of $3,998 a month. I almost lost my new house to foreclosure. Through a bit of luck and taking on a new 30 year mortgage (which will be paid off when I'm 95 years old!), I sold my house in Pennsylvania and now live in my wonderful new home in Sussex County, Delaware near the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean (2 miles east of where I live the waves roll in daily.) From January 2006 until just last week I had lost just about all interest in cooking. That is how traumatic the house selling and relocation to Delaware was to me. This experience for me was the worst thing next to a terminal illness . It was so traumatic for me that I couldn't even write about it in my blog. I may never write about it except the little snippets of information that I just wrote about in this paragraph.

But last week I felt like life was returning to normal for me. I have a renewed interest in cooking again. I've cooked cakes over the past two years but they were the prepackaged box cakes like Duncan Hines. While good, they aren't the same as homemade. Last week I wanted a good chocolate cake. A homemade, from scratch chocolate cake. A cake made with cake flour, not all purpose flour. A cake in which the ingredients are at room temperature, not cold straight out of the refrigerator. I saw this recipe for Buttermilk Chocolate Cake on the side of the Swans Down Cake Flour box. It looked like a major effort. Not quite as convenient as a box cake in which you just add oil, water and eggs. This one would require many bowls, scrappers, measuring cups, and pans. I took one the challenge. It was well worth it. The finished chocolate cake was the best I have ever had in my life and I made it. I froze some, gave some to my good neighbor and promptly made two more (so I would have enough before the weather got too hot to use the oven.) Below is my Buttermilk Chocolate Cake Recipe. It is not my original recipe but rather from the box of Swans Down Cake Flour. You make this cake and you may not go back to any other chocolate cake recipe. It certainly far surpasses any box cake.

Deluxe Devil's Food Cake

Preparation time: 45 minutes
Bake time: 30 minutes

Crisco No-Stick Cooking Spray with Flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 teaspoon clear vanilla
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups Softasilk Cake Flour
1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (alkalized) or unsweetened coca powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cup buttermilk

Butter cream Frosting

1 1/4 cup (2 1/12 sticks), butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons clear vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract 8-9 tablespoons milk
7 1/2 cups (2 pounds) powdered sugar

HEAT: oven to 350F. Spray three 9-inch round cake pans generously with no-stick cooking spray with flour.

BEAT: sugar, 1 cup butter, 1 teaspoon clear vanilla and 3/4 teaspoon almond extract in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt; beat into creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk on medium speed. Beat 1 minute longer. Pour into prepared pans.

BAKE: 26 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pans to wire rack. Cool completely.

BEAT: 1 1/4 cups butter, 2 teaspoons clear vanilla and 1 teaspoon almond extracts in a medium bowl at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add milk and powdered sugar, scraping bowl as needed. Bet on high speed adding additional milk by the tablespoon until desired spreading consistency is achieved. Brush any loose crumbs from cooled layers. Place first layer, rounded side down, on plate. Spread with Butter cream Frosting to within 1/4 inch of edge. Level off top of second layer. Top with second layer, topside down. Sp;read with frosting. Top with third layer, top side up. Coat side of cake with thin layer of frosting to seal in crumbs. Frost side and top of cake. If desired, draw cake comb through frosting to make decorative designs and top with shaved chocolate curls. Refrigerate cake to set the frosting; allow cake to stand at room temperature 10 minutes before serving.
Makes 16 servings.

The buttermilk gives the cake a nice old fashion chocolate flavor. Enjoy!

Since then I had a hankering for that wonderful carrot cake I had at Cracker Barrel last year. I looked up the recipe on the Internet, made it and here is what is left after one day. Bill is crazy over carrot cake. My neighbor Bob Murphy loves it. My good friend Bob McCamley says it is his favorite cake. I love it. I'm back cooking again and I love it. Future postings will feature my one and only chicken salad recipe. One think I want to make clear to anyone who is thinking that I'm a gourmet cook. I am not. I don't cook seafood, lamb, or veal. I just like to cook food that taste good. I cook mostly chicken and some beef. I love to cook vegetables and I make the best mashed (we called them "squashed") potatoes around. Cooking is another relaxing past time I have in addition to my genealogy research, taking digital pictures, and posting to my blog and personal journal. This is what I do in my retirement and I love it.

My Part Time Job

After I retired I laid around the house for about three months, just to unwind and decompress from the nightmare ordeal of selling my house in Pennsylvania. I decided that I wanted to go back to work. However, I didn’t want to work fulltime. I didn’t want to work Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM, 50 weeks of the year. As they say, “been there, done that!” I certainly didn’t want to work in a padded cubicle. Really “been there, done that” with all the attendant office politics that go hand in hand with that type of job. At this time of my life, in my waning years I, like many other retirees wanted to do something just for myself. I wanted to work at a job that I truly enjoyed. A job was fun and interesting. Sure, all jobs have their moments but what is life if not a challenge every now and then? I think a little stimulus is what we all need in our everyday life to keep our brains from atrophying. So, I decided to seek a job that I had previously when I was in between my banking jobs – hotel front desk clerk. After applying at several Rehoboth Beach and Lewes hotels, a canal front bed and breakfast inn was astute enough to hire me to work part-time Monday and Thursday evenings and every other weekend – once during the day and the other weekend during the evening. The owner of the Inn hired me after an interview. He is a man of true wisdom. He saw the true value of hiring an “older” employee. Sure, I may have been around the block a few times but I can hold my own with the best and brightest and youngest employee. In my case experience does indeed trump youth and beauty. This was/is an ideal situation for me. Just enough work to keep me active and vital but not so much that it would drain the life out of me. Also, the extra income helps to pay the mortgage that I now have since I had to drop the price of my previous home in Pennsylvania in order to sell it and move to Delaware. That’s another whole story I may, or may not go into in the future. I am a believer in that all things happen for a reason. I truly believe that if I had no trouble selling my previous job I probably would not have found my present job at the upscale, delightful small Inn where I work now. I work with wonderful co-workers, a great boss, and appreciative guests. Best of all, I’m finally working “near the water”. That seems to be just about everybody’s goal in life to either “live near the water” or “work near the water.” I have one out of two which isn’t bad at all.